To Feel Wretched That I Put Poison Down To Kill Rats?

[TheCatsBlanket]

My very elderly aunt has rats in her garden. She is terrified of them and asked me to put poison down, which I did. Today, I went to check the rat trap box in the hedge, and I saw one of them underneath some leaves, obviously still alive but in a bad way. I feel so horrible about it, because I am responsible for causing pain to an animal, who was quietly living it's life and just because they get a bad press (probably stemming from the plague) I am now a murderer.
It made me wonder why there isn't a more humane way to get rid of them where, if they have to be killed, why can't it be instant? I stupidly googled it too, and now am more sad that they can take up to several days to die and are conscious throughout.

I voted YaBU because in my opinion no one should be putting poison in the garden. What we are doing to ensure they are out is keeping fence in good nick, have the concrete bottoms which go bit underneath and if we discover any digging/hole/new entry, we close it off. Also cut grass regularly and keep garden in a good nick not overgrown

@Corna

Yep I used to live on a canal boat and knew half a dozen people over the years who contracted leptospirosis from rat piss (it’s a real issue on stretches of canal running through inner cities).
one got Weils Disease and though he survived, he’s not been well since.

We've taken our dog (she has Jack Russell in her so is officially a 'ratter') and put her in various gardens with rat problems for a good sniff around etc She's never caught anything but seems to be a good deterrent! I'm guessing her scent does the job?

In her younger days, my lakeland bitch was an excellent ratter. We used to find a dead rat on the lawn most weeks, sometimes two. She's deaf now, and her eyesight is very poor, but her sense of smell is unaffected.

A colleague who lives close by has a rat problem but can't work out where they're getting in the house. I took the dog for a stroll round the outside and it was clear from the dog's reaction that they're getting in where the wastepipe from the kitchen sink comes out of the wall, so they can fix it.

We had to get a guy out to put poison down a while ago and have a similar problem: neighbours who feed the birds - with like half a family sized lasagne left out on the lawn.

I felt awful about it, especially as the male lakeland I used to have nearly died of what the vet believed was Warfarin poisoning when he was about 6 years old. We have no idea where he picked it up. I now keep the antidote, vitamin K, in the house and would have no hesitation in giving it to a dog or cat that started to vomit blood.

My boy was fine after a day at the vets on a drip, but the 6am dash up there was really worrying, I half expected to arrive with a dead dog in the car.

When you suddenly find yourself faced with a garden full of rats, running around undeterred by your presence and then begin to hear noises in the loft... you pretty much do whatever you have to do for a night's peace

Or when you wake up in the night to a strange, loud hissing sound and venture downstairs to investigate and find that they've chewed through the pipe that supplies water to the dishwasher, which has created a fountain in your kitchen which is now ankle deep in water!

That was NOT a good night.

Rats, uncontrolled, are a threat to health.

I like feeding birds. But I buy feeders which are enclosed and use a baffle to stop rats getting to them. The day I found them pole climbing was a eye opener!!

Snap traps are the most human kill but outside its so hard to do. Definitely use then in the shed or loft, with some snickers or nut butter as bait. They love it. Grim but it's usually a quick death and no issues with poisoning other species.

Tbh I used to shoot them down at the stables. Air rifle usually gets them.

I've just come back to read all the answers since last night (I'm not on MN all day long)

I know there's a very large number of replies who say it's barbaric, which was the original sentiment of my post that yes, I feel very, very cruel. But, I simply don't have the time to be placing the more humane rat traps and visit daily to check them and see what's been caught....my aunt lives 15 miles away.

When I am able to go again during the week to deliver her groceries, I think I will knock next door and tell the neighbour what's going on, in the hope that she a) doesn't hurl abuse at me and b) stops feeding the birds.

The rats have been seen during daylight yes, which is how aunty knew they were there. She doesn't live anywhere rural, she lives on a council estate. She told me that she heard scratching noises in the brick built old coal shed which is adjoining the house, so they must be in there too :(

I truly hope that in the process of getting rid of them, no other wildlife eats the dead ones and also dies from my actions.

If I'd not ventured down to the bottom of her garden yesterday to check the box, I wouldn't have seen the dying rat that prompted me to start this thread. I do feel horrible BUT so many people have said that so much devastation can be caused if they're allowed to breed freely and enter the house, so I'm going to have to deal with it and take the stance that it was my quickest option to help at the time.

It was so easy to buy the poison too. Never having bought it before, I thought I'd have had to go through all sorts of reasons why I wanted to buy it, but it was literally a 2 minute click and collect from Screwfix for less than a fiver, and that was it.

Fuck me, it’s a nest of rats not a basket of puppies. Sorry, rats, if it’s you or me, you’re going down.

But, I simply don't have the time to be placing the more humane rat traps and visit daily to check them and see what's been caught....my aunt lives 15 miles away.

'Humane' traps are a no-no if they can't be checked regularly. And in these times I'm not sure the police would consider checking traps to be a good reason for making a 30 mile round trip.

Good luck dealing with this problem for your aunt (and especially with the neighbour).

I know someone that lost their dogs last year due to people in the village putting down rat poison. Its an awful way to go

We poison them too. I'm in NZ where they are hugely detrimental to our native birds. We tried trapping but they avoided the traps. I feel no regret.

And what @DollyDoneMore said.

Shot gun or terrier?

You can get an electronic rat trap which kills them instantly by electrocution. See Screwfix website, not cheap but no need to buy poison with the possibility of it killing another animal, pet or getting in the food chain.

TheCatsBlanket is it a council house? If it is I'd definitely call the council, if its privately owned I'd shop around.
Put it in the hands of the professionals.
They will set bait boxes that only the rats can get into and they have access to more powerful poisons.
If it's a council house they'll be keen not just to evict the rats from your aunts but from any neighbouring properties too.

It's all well and good for people to suggest dogs and shot guns great if you happen to have a terrier with instincts. I'm not sure that a beginner shooter should be learning the skills in a back garden while most likely missing the blinking rat and scaring them off. Seriously why are people suggesting daft ideas?

I know rats are an issue but please dont put down posion.
Its a an awful way for any creature to die. I know two people who had to watch their much loved cats die a terrible death after eating rat poison, vets unable to save them.

trickyex what do you suggest that the op does? In these times especially people shouldn't be letting cats out roam anyway.

@JKScot4 lay off yeah? You've made your point

I always hated rats. In my London houseshare I watched one merrily skip across the garden towards the open back door and it gave me the shudders. Housemates told me they used to have competitions with baseball bats and rush out to smash their heads in

Then I stayed with a friend for a while between houses and he had two pet rats. At first they made my flesh crawl but I got used to them and one of them really loved me when he would clean out the cage he'd put them on the bed with me and one would crawl up me and sit on my shoulders. Changed my mind about them and I'm not sure what I'd do now in the event of a rat problem. They ARE vermin. Sadly companies don't think there's much of a market for spending the money developing "humane" extermination methods. Most people just want them gone, they don't care how it's done. It's not your fault and clearly you weren't to know how nasty a death it can be. You just wanted to help your aunt

For what it's worth, I also had a 'ratter' (Tibetan terrier although technically they're not terriers). The only thing that fucker ever shook to death was tea towels

Don't be too hard on yourself.

If you want to deter rats in a ...ahem, slightly more humane way. Pour your own urine in your garden now and again. We get a terrible rat issue here every winter but last winter and the one before I did this once a week and I didn't see one rat. I did pee in a bottle and pour it. I didn't piss in the garden you understand!

To all the people that seem to like them, you won't once they have chewed through your wires and set your house on fire!

Pet rats are lovely though.

I couldn’t get my knickers in a twist about it. I don’t have a rat problem but I’d happily poison the dirty disease ridden filth. Yuck!

You can buy bait boxes. If you use these no cat or dog should be able to get at the poison.

I'm not sure that a beginner shooter should be learning the skills in a back garden while most likely missing the blinking rat and scaring them off.

Or see something move and shoot a cat ... we had a cat badly hurt by someone using an air rifle when I was growing up. (No idea if it was really an accident of course).

Don't read Terry Pratchett's "The Amazing Maurice" OP, or you'll never be able to bring yourself to get rid of the fuckers.

Errol I know the average back garden is not the place to be trying to take pot shots at anything.
The shoot them idea is so daft it's verging on funny. Can you imagine the old dears face if the Op rocked up with a gun too take pot shots at the rats? I can just imagine how my Granny would react if it was me she'd have a nanny fit

We have a lot more rabbits than rats and im very rural.

But rats are about getting into the sheep feeds etc. So poison down and i dint feel guilty.

We find a lot of dead rats, and the foxes will eat them.

My god, some of the responses here.

Some people need reminded that Ratatouille was not a documentary.